UPDATE ON BILL TO SLASH TOBACCO SUBSIDES

Recently ASH reported that Congressman Richard Durban was going to introduce an amendment to slash federal subsidies for tobacco when the matter came up in the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, June 6th.

It now appears that he plans to introduce the amendment on the House floor on Wednesday, June 12th, where all U.S. Representatives will have an opportunity to vote on it.

The amendment will be to a bill known as H.R. 3603.

ASH still believes that this is an important issue, and that persons who have a view on this topic should communicate that view to their representative in a timely fashion.

For this reason we are reprinting excerpts from our earlier notice below, including information on how you can contact your Representative.

An amendment to slash federal funding of tobacco is scheduled for a vote in the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE this Thursday, June 6, 1996.

The so-called "Durbin Amendment" to the Agriculture Appropriations bill would prohibit the use of federal funds for extension services for tobacco, and the crop insurance program for tobacco beginning in 1997.

It would save approximately $25 million according to the Congressional Budget Office. It will be introduced by Congressman Richard Durbin (D-IL).

Whether or not this bill passes or not may well depend upon the extent to which members of the HOUSE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE, as well as other U.S. Representatives, receive phone calls, faxes, E- mail messages and other communications from persons interested in this issue.

The bill could well pass, especially if there is significant support from voters. After all:

- In 1992, the House voted 331 - 82 to prohibit the use of Market Promotion Program export assistance for tobacco.

- In 1993, the agriculture appropriations bill extended this policy to all export assistance programs.

- In 1994, the agriculture appropriations bill extended the prohibition on tobacco assistance to USDA's research programs.

And, on an issue like this one, only a few calls, faxes, or E-mail messages can make a very important difference.

To help visitors to ASH's Web Site contact members of the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, a list of the members -- organized by state -- with their phone and fax numbers is presented below.

However, if your U.S. Representative is not on the Committee, you may wish to contact your own representative [SEE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW] as well as the Committee Chairman, Bob Livingston (R-LA), at PHONE (202) 225-3015, or Fax (202) 225-0739.

The text of the Durbin amendment follows:

"None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Agriculture may be use (1) to carry out, or pay the salaries of personnel who carry out, any extension service program for tobacco; or (2) to provide, or pay the salaries of personnel who provides, crop insurance for tobacco for the 1997 or later crop years.

To contact members of the HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE, use the table below to locate their phone and fax numbers. To send an E-mail message to members of the COMMITTEE or to your own U.S. Representative, see the information following the table.

TABLE SHOWS STATE, REP'S NAME, PARTY, PHONE NUMBER, FAX NUMBER First Number Shown is Voice Phone, Second Number Shown is Fax

AL, Callahan, Sonny, R,   (202) 225-4931, (202) 225-0562
AL, Bevill, Tom, D,   (202) 225-4876, (202) 225-1604
AR, Thornton, Ray, D,   (202) 225-2506, (202) 225-9273
AR, Dickey, Jay, R,   (202) 225-3772, (202) 225-1314
AZ, Kolbe, Jim, R,   (202) 225-2542, (202) 225-0378
CA, Packard, Ron, R,   (202) 225-3906, (202) 225-0134
CA, Dixon, Julian C., D,   (202) 225-7084, (202) 225-4091
CA, Lewis, Jerry, R,   (202) 225-5861, (202) 225-6498
CA, Fazio, Vic, D,   (202) 225-5716
CA, Riggs, Frank D., R,   (202) 225-3311, (202) 225-3403
CA, Pelosi, Nancy, D,   (202) 225-4965, (202) 225-8259
CA, Torres, Esteban Edward, D,   (202) 225-5256, (202) 225-9711
CO, Skaggs, David E., D,   (202) 225-2161, (202) 226-3806
FL, Young, C.W., R,   (202) 225-5961, (202) 225-9764
FL, Miller, Dan, R,   (202) 225-5015, (202) 226-0828
GA, Kingston, Jack, R,   (202) 225-5831, (202) 226-(202) 2269
IA, Lightfoot, Jim, R,   (202) 225-3806, (202) 225-6973
IL, Yates, Sidney R., D,   (202) 225-2111, (202) 225-3493
IL, Porter, John Edward, R,   (202) 225-4835, (202) 225-0157
IL, Durbin, Richard J., D,   (202) 225-5271, (202) 225-0170
IN, Myers, John T., R,   (202) 225-5805, (202) 225-1649
IN, Visclosky, Peter J., D,   (202) 225-2461, (202) 225-2493
KY, Rogers, Harold, R,   (202) 225-4601, (202) 225-0940
LA, Livingston, Bob, R,   (202) 225-3015, (202) 225-0739
MD, Hoyer, Steny H., D,   (202) 225-4131, (202) 225-4300
MI, Knollenberg, Joseph, R,   (202) 225-5802, (202) 226-2356
MN, Sabo, Martin Olav, D,   (202) 225-4755, (202) 225-4886
MS, Wicker, Roger F., R,   (202) 225-4306, (202) 225-3549
MS, Parker, Mike, R,   (202) 225-5865, (202) 225-5886
NC, Taylor, Charles H., R,   (202) 225-6401, (202) 225-0519
NC, Hefner, W.G., D,   (202) 225-3715, (202) 225-4036
NJ, Frelinghuysen, Rodney P., R,   (202) 225-5034, (202) 225-3186
NM, Skeen, Joe, R,   (202) 225-2365, (202) 225-9599
NV, Vucanovich, Barbara F., R,   (202) 225-6155, (202) 225-2319
NY, Forbes, Michael P., R,   (202) 225-3826, (202) 225-3143
NY, Lowey, Nita M., D,   (202) 225-6506, (202) 225-0546
NY, Walsh, James T., R,   (202) 225-3701, (202) 225-4042
NY, Serrano, Jose, D,   (202) 225-4361, (202) 225-6001
OH, Kaptur, Marcy, D,   (202) 225-4146, (202) 225-7711
OH, Stokes, Louis, D,   (202) 225-7032, (202) 225-1339
OH, Regula, Ralph, R,   (202) 225-3876, (202) 225-3059
OH, Hobson, David L., R,   (202) 225-4324, (202) 225-1984
OK, Istook, Ernest, R,   (202) 225-2132, (202) 226-1463
OR, Bunn, Jim, R,   (202) 225-5711, (202) 225-2994
PA, Murtha, John P., D,   (202) 225-2065, (202) 225-5709
PA, McDade, Joseph M., R,   (202) 225-3731, (202) 225-9594
PA, Foglietta, Thomas M., D,   (202) 225-4731, (202) 225-0088
TX, Bonilla, Henry, R,   (202) 225-4511, (202) 225-2237
TX, Wilson, Charles, D,   (202) 225-2401, (202) 225-1764
TX, Coleman, Ronald D., D,   (202) 225-4831, (202) 225-4825
TX, Chapman, Jim, D,   (202) 225-3035, (202) 225-7265
TX, DeLay, Tom, R,   (202) 225-5951, (202) 225-5241
VA, Wolf, Frank R., R,   (202) 225-5136, (202) 225-0437
WA, Nethercutt, George R., R,   (202) 225-2006, (202) 225-3392
WA, Dicks, Norman D., D,   (202) 225-5916, (202) 226-1176
WI, Neumann, Mark, R,   (202) 225-3031, (202) 225-3393
WI, Obey, David R., D,   (202) 225-3365, (202) 225-3240
WV, Mollohan, Alan B., D,   (202) 225-4172, (202) 225-7564

TO SEND AN E-MAIL MESSAGE TO ANY U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS:

The easiest way to begin is to click on THE ZIPPER: http://www.stardot.com/zipper/

This site lets you enter your zip code, and then tells you who your senators and representatives are, and how you can contact them. If they have e-mail addresses, you simply click on their e-mail address, and then type the text of your message directly onto the page before pushing the send button. It's as simple as that!

If you already know the name of your representative in the U.S. House, you can also send him or her an e-mail message by clicking on either of these two URL addresses:

U.S. HOUSE URL ONE: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1007/house.html

U.S. HOUSE URL TWO: http://www.nyx.net/~anon3210/house.html

ASH RESPECTFULLY SUGGESTS THE FOLLOWING:

1. Put the topic of your e-mail at the very beginning. For example: "FDA regulation of Cigarettes"; "Tobacco Subsidies"; etc.

2. Put your full name, mailing address, and e-mail address near the top of your letter.

3. Clearly state your position near the beginning of the e- mail by using words like "oppose," "favor," etc.

4. Tell them why you feel the way you do in your own words. Simply repeating a slogan isn't effective. A personal experience is much more effective.

5. Tell the recipient that you will be watching for his or her vote, or ask for a letter stating the legislator's position.

6. You may if you wish refer the legislators to ASH's Web Page -- -- or to ASH's office at (202) 659-4310.

7. Once you have the e-mail address for one of your legislators, please add it to the mailing list on your regular e- mail program so that you can communicate even more easily.

ASH - ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH 2013 H Street, NW / Washington, DC 20006 / (202) 659-4310